


Unmasked

by Lucifers_Daughter666



Series: Another Time, Another Place [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Abuse, Abused character, Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, But that's later in the series, It's VERY complicated, It's an alternate reality, No just really powerful thought process, Reality Rift (original concept), Seriously advanced technology, Teleportation, Time Travel, Trans Male Character, War, help me, high tech, magic?, mine, original - Freeform, what is tagging?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-21 17:56:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11949591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucifers_Daughter666/pseuds/Lucifers_Daughter666
Summary: PLEASE READ: IMPORTANTPlease, if you wish to share this with others, who are not on this site, please ask my permission and make sure that I get proper credit in the creation of this because this is original. Please do not post this on other sites without my permission, or without giving proper credit.In an alternate world where it is illegal to show your real face in public, everyone wears Masks. Both physical and metaphorical. Your Make is your identity. You cannot change who you are, but you can change your Mask and be something else.Leaf Meyers, a young orphan learning more about herself as her Mask slowly breaks. Broken or missing Masks are punishable by death. Leaf has no family, no friends, literally nothing to live for.l, so why shouldn't she just take off her mask and let the world see her for herself?Cyrus Falls has always felt comfortable in his Mask, mainly because his mother hates him for his appearance. He was a large young man, but he was kind, helpful and gentle.Kaizu and Amato are brothers. They have a great responsibility. Kaizu has to help Leaf save all realities. Amato is as carefree as a nine year old can. Even with the responsibility on his shoulders.





	1. I Leaf Meyers

The world was spinning slowly, but not slowly enough to keep the girl from becoming dizzy. It was dark, but the little pinpricks that were the stars gave off a small amount of light. The crescent moon looked like a thin, cold smile of silver. She groaned, rolling into her side, the images of the natural beauty of the night becoming blurry and out of focus. She wanted to see more, but it faded away.

She opened her yes slowly the sunlight blinded her. She sighed. It was morning. She had to go to school. She had to face the world . . . Well, metaphorically. She wouldn't face the world.

She slowly sat up and looked at the cheap digital click on the wall of her bedroom.

7:23.

Crap. She should've been up at least fifteen minutes ago. She would get the worst chores that afternoon. Why was she so pathetic? Can't she do anything right?

Aside from messing up literally everything she does, no.

As quickly as possible, she grabbed her ivory Mask from her bedside table. She held the artificial face against her real one. Immediately, the wires that held the Mask up dug into her skin. They buried themselves into her scalp and the skin around her ears. She winced at the pain, but shook it off quickly. Even though she put the Mask on everyday she would never get used to the pain.  She brushed her silver hair back and and skillfully braided it, tying it off with a black band. She grabbed her school clothes and changed into the grey uniform. While brushing her teeth, her Mask opened at the mouth, she studied her reflection.

Her hair, pulled back into the braid, was white as snow. The sides of her head were shaved, the only thing that set her apart done everyone else at school. Rules were so strict. Everyone had to have the same style of Mask until the age of twenty - one, the legal age of an adult. Which she was not. Until you were an adult you had to have in of two hair cuts. A braid down your back, or a military style buzz cut. She had decided to make a mix of both. So technically she wasn't breaking the rules. And that was okay with her. Her eyes, on the other hand, were a striking blue, the color or the sky, if it glowed like the neon lights of holo - pads that were used everywhere.

Since there was nothing else to do, she left. The orphanage she lived at didn't give food to the children while they go to school. Even on weekends and holidays. They should've been closed down for the horrible care that were giving, but no one did anything. She didn't care. Why would she? She was practically dead already. She might as well go to the nearest crossroads and take off her Mask.

But for now, things like that would have to wait. She needed to go to school.


	2. II Cyrus Falls

Everything hurt. As he opened his eyes, his head throbbed. The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, burning his eyes. With a groan, he sat up, tired, but aware of his surroundings. Despite just waking up, and his senses were only partially working, he could still smell the acrid scent of the cigarettes his mother had smoked last night. He felt the soreness in his muscles. Makers, it hurt. Everything hurt. Every single morning was like this.

Aching muscles and burnt arms.

Throbbing head and pain everywhere.

And every day he told himself the same things. It could always be worse. I could be Maskless. He never told himself that death would be worse, because it would be better. He wouldn't have to deal with the fact that his own mother hated his face.

He tried to put those thoughts or of his head, and he got up. Pushing the stained sheets to the side, he flung his legs over the edge of the bed, setting his bare feet against the cold floor. The bed creaked as he stood, finally relieved of his weight. He'd never been small, even as a baby. He was almost six and a half feet tall now.

Ordinary mothers would say, "Oh, there's just more of you to love!"

But his mother said, "You're too much, just like your father." Which was followed by a string of insults (which he would never repeat) directed to the father he had never met. Those would, if his mother wasn't too wasted, turn to insults on her own son.

He didn't like his mother very much. But she was his only family, so he had to deal with pain.

These thoughts tumbled through his head as he got ready for school. He sighed and reached for his Mask, finally feeling comfortable.

His Mask was like a security blanket, it made him feel safe and comfortable in his own skin. And he wore it as often as possible. And he did. Be only took it off in order to bathe and  sleep. Eating? Well, every Mask opened up around the mouth so everyone could eat without having to remove their Masks.

He was silent as he made his way through the house, passing his mother, who lay unconscious on the couch; a bottle of wine hung almost completely empty on her hand.

He sighed and carefully tossed a throw blanket over her limp body. He took the bottle out of her hand and set it on the coffee table that was littered with various forms of alcohol. An ash tray has a least three quarters of a pack of cigarettes.

Before he left the house, he looked at his mother one more time. Her chocolate colored skin was smooth, like she never smoked or drank more than two glasses of wine in one night. He preferred having his mother asleep. Her hair was in long braids that reached lower than her lower ribs, but they were currently pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head. 

He sighed and turned his back on his mother. He left the house and headed to school.


	3. III Leaf Meyers

School was not something people liked. But she did. It gave her a chance to escape the orphanage that was her prison. She liked school because she could relax. She could learn. But she also hated the students and teachers. The students teased her. The teachers ignored her. The faculty were cruel and emotionless. The students were cold and merciless.

Lunch was the only time she could relax to a full extent. She would sit away from everyone else, under the shade of the only tree on campus and eat her lunch while reading fantasy novels on her holo-pad. The pastel blue light shining on her face. As she took a bite of her sandwich through the opening in the lower portion of her Mask, the protagonist was in a battle with his enemy upon a ship, surrounded by enemies with no backup. Only his weapon and his wits. He was able to get a connection with his base, and was able to get his enemy to admit his plans. She was in awe of the hero’s skills.

She wished her life was as interesting as the protagonist. She was lost in the story.

“Hey, Leaf!” A voice called mockingly. She stiffened. She closed the book and set down her lunch, closing her Mask. She stood and collected her things. “Now where do you think you’re going, Tree Hugger?”

Stephanie Greene was one of the biggest bullies in the entirety of the town. She enjoyed picking on Leaf the most. And the petite albino had been the victim of her harassment since grade school. And nothing could stop her, no matter how hard Leaf tried. Stephanie’s family was rich, they had more dinuvs than most people would only ever dream of having. And she loved shoving that into others’ Masks.

Leaf always tried to get away from her, to prevent herself from getting hurt. But that never stopped the blond. She had just about every single boy at school wrapped around her finger. And that was just about half of the school.

Leaf was on the losing side of this war. That was obvious. And no one cared enough to help her. That was also obvious.

“Hey, don’t you know it’s rude to ignore others when they’re talking to you?” Stephanie’s posse snickered at their master’s – sorry, their friend’s words.

Leaf took a breath and kept walking, dropping her half eaten lunch into an incinerator, feeling the heat on her exposed hand. She clutched her holo-pad so tightly, it hurt her hand. She walked down the path, heading toward the Library, her last haven.

Someone grabbed her collar and pulled her back. Leaf nearly fell over, she jerked away and turned to face the assaulter. Naturally it was a guy at least three timed her size. Probably a crony that Stephanie had sent after her. 

Why did Stephanie like playing these games?

Leaf could practically see the twisted smile behind his Mask. She took a step back, only to run into another brick-wall of a man. She felt more claustrophobic than when Mrs. Jenkins, the old woman who owned the orphanage, locks her in a closet.

The two older students could hurt her. They could easily crush her. Break her. Shatter her. She tried to breathe, but her lungs had failed her, almost like they had forgotten how to breathe.. Her heart hammered in her chest. All she heard was blood roaring in her ears like a pride of lions, and Stephanie’s cruel and taunting laughter.

It was times like this that she felt lucky to have her Mask. Something that would hide her face. Her wide eyes and quivering lips. She was sure that her pale face had been drained of what little color it held.

She tried to push past the two jocks, but her efforts were in vain. She wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And that made her stomach twist into a dozen knots.

She felt like she imagined it, but Leaf could’ve sworn she heard someone shouting.

She could barely hear. It was nearly impossible to form a rational thought. When the two jocks were pulled away by an equally large young man, slightly shorter than the other two. His Mask was a pale ivory – just like everyone else’s. But his skin was a dark chocolate brown, which made the Mask stand out even more. For some reason, Leaf noted, he was wearing gloves. It wasn’t particularly hot, but it wasn’t cold enough that he would have to wear gloves outside. 

He seemed familiar, but Leaf couldn’t place where she’d seen him before. Her breath slowly came back to her. She took several hesitant steps backward as her unknown helper yelled at Stephanie and her minions. Then, as he turned, their eyes met. Leaf did the only thing that came to mind.

She turned and ran.

~~~

When Leaf finally came to her senses, she was in the library, curled up in a corner, shaking. She didn’t know how long she’d been there, but the lunch bell hadn’t rung, so she just stayed there. She didn’t even try to keep reading her novel on her holo – pad. It just didn’t seem worth it.  
When the lunch bell did ring, she went to her class with her head down and sat in her seat. Silently listening to the professor. She did not enjoy her technology classes. Especially when Professor Burns said thing like:

“In two tenaks, you will turn in a project done with a group of my own choosing. You all will work on a project on the history of technology and how far we’ve come in the past several centuries. Now on with the groups…"

He said that in his normal, boring drawl. And, no matter how normal he talked, no matter how simple he put it, it chilled Leaf to the bone. Like someone injected liquid nitrogen into her blood stream. He was about a third of the way through the list – everyone moving to their partners – he called out Leaf’s name with another student.

“…Cyrus Falls and Leaf Meyers…”

Then he continued on with the list. But Leaf didn’t hear anything else. Everyone was whispering.

“…The biggest freaks…”

“…I’d pity them, but its too funny…”

“…They’re going to fail…”

“Freaks.”

“Weirdos.”

“A giant and an ant. Ha!”

“He’ll crush her like a bug.”

Leaf thought that she was going to have another panic attack, and she was about to ask to use the restroom so she could go throw up, when the boy who helped her at lunch sat down next to her, dropping a holo–pad on the desk and a bag on the floor. He smelled faintly of smoke.

“I’m sorry.” He said quietly. “For lunch, I was just trying to help you. I really didn’t mean to scare you…” He rambled. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She said in a quiet voice. Trying to keep her voice steady. But Cyrus must have heard the waver in her tone.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Leaf closed her eyes. “Now, the project,” She adjusted her holo-pad and turned it on, immediately it brought up the book she was reading.

“Is that The Maze War?” Cyrus’ eyes scanned the screen.

“Uhhh, yeah.”

“One of the best books in the series.”

“I like the third one . . . its just my favorite character is introduced and all…” Leaf’s face heated beneath her Mask. She bookmarked her page and closed the novel, bringing up a blank document on a new screen. On another one, she pulled up a search engine and her History of Technology text book on a third. “Alright, Cyrus, correct?”

“Yes, and you are Leaf, you love reading and you can constantly be found in the library or beneath the large Oak tree in the courtyard at lunch or your free time.” Cyrus plucked at the cuffs of his gloves.

The small albino stared at him. 

“I normally work in the front office, and they send me on little trips all over the school, and I’ve seen people around. You are just very…memorable. With the white hair and the style – its different than anyone else’s. And you’ve got those eyes that shine like neon.”

Leaf said nothing, but she was grateful of her Mask once more. She tapped a button on the side of the pad and her keyboard zoomed up, in two pieces like she preferred it. Immediately, she began typing on the keys, beginning the essay portion.

“You do realize that there’s also a physical project that needs to be built…”

“I know. But I’m not good with building stuff. Makers, you have to have some talent other than delivering messages to teachers.”

“That was the point I was about to make. I’m good at building stuff. I’m really good with my hands. I was thinking that I could work on the physical part of the project and you can work on the writing. If that’s alright…”

“Yes, that’s fine. I’m going to need your address, so we can work together outside of school.”

“Um, my mom might have issues with that… but I’ll try to talk to her.”

“Okay, until she’s fine with it, we’ll meet in public places, a coffee shop or library or something. The orphanage I live at is crap and does not allow visitors unless they’re looking to adopt.”

“Alright, we’ll work something out.”

“We will."

Leaf, for the first time in so, so long felt at peace with herself and someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a longer chapter, woohoo! Sorry for the long wait, chapter four is under construction now. Hope you enjoyed!  
> Leave a comment on what you liked and if you want more, then leave a Kudos if you want. ;p  
> (=^*w*^=)~  
> ((^^^^^^^^^^That is supposed to be a cat...))

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first chapter of my first book. I know it's short, but I wanted to add as little information as possible so you could slowly gain it over time. I hope you enjoyed. Leave a kudos and comment if you liked it. Chapter two will be posted soon. Bye!


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